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Love At First Sight For Bearcat Newcomer Rubles

Within days after taking his recruiting visit to
Cincinnati in early January, junior college standout Titus Rubles changed his Twitter
handle to @BearcatBound even
though signing day was more than three months away.

"I think I gave away my plans when I did that, but
Cincinnati fans loved it," Rubles told me with a laugh."After I took my visit, I knew where I was
going but I had to work out a few things with my family and look into a couple
of other schools as well.But in my
head, I knew where I was going.Once I
visited, I was in love with Cincinnati."

"I give Coach Savino the credit," said UC head coach
Mick Cronin."We try to really find guys
that fit our style and system and have a certain attitude and we felt he was
the best junior college player in the country by far.Darren did a great job of identifying him
early before other people figured it out.That was the key, because late in the year he was dominating junior
college basketball but by then, we were way ahead of the game."

Titus is the only recruit that Cincinnati signed
this year and will be counted on to contribute right away.Following the departure of senior Yancy
Gates, Rubles figures to join 6'8" Justin Jackson and 6'10" Cheikh Mbodj as the
Bearcat big men who see the most playing time.

"I'm looking to contribute in any way possible,"
said Rubles."Whatever I have to do to
get on the court, that's what I'll do.I'm
here to rebound, block shots...anything that I can do."

"When you have a new guy, all you're hoping for is
that he helps your team win," said Coach Cronin."Titus has great talent and great athleticism
- he has a lot to learn on the defensive end, but he's a veteran guy coming out
of junior college.He was on a winning
team and had a really good coach in Tra Arnold, so I think he has some
advantages because he does have some basketball acumen.

"The key is going to be to get him in shape so that
he can play at the speed that games are played at in the Big East. And then make sure that he's letting the game
come to him and get him sound on the defensive end."

Rubles, who goes by the nickname T-Rub, is the
youngest of five children and was born and raised in Dallas, TX where he
idolized one of Cincinnati's all-time best players.

"I'm a big Kenyon Martin fan," said Rubles."He used to be my favorite player and still
is one of my favorites, but LeBron James is on top.I've been #4 since I was a little kid, but
(Kenyon's) number is retired here and you've got to respect that.I'm going to be #2 instead.That's a family number - one of my older brothers
wore that and he really liked it."

But seeing Kenyon's retired jersey on the wall of
Fifth Third Arena was not what impressed Rubles on his recruiting visit.It was the atmosphere in the building as he
watched the Bearcats beat Notre Dame 71-55.

"What stood out was the crowd," said Rubles."When I saw how into the game they were and
how many people were there, it was really like a done deal."

"I tell people all the time, when recruits come to a
home game and it's a packed house and the crowd is a factor in the game, that's
impressive to kids," said Coach Cronin."People
say, 'Coach we need to recruit this guy or that guy.'Well, if we sellout Fifth Third Arena every
game, recruiting becomes a lot easier."